Best XI

Football is a beautiful game and the excitement that a 90-minute match can pack in, is not comparable with too many sports across the world. We see brilliant teams with sublime individuals creating magic on the field but… football’s magic is sometimes tarnished with some not-so sublime moments of ‘play-acting’ on the pitch. While acts like diving, faking injuries et al can be annoying on the one hand, they can be quite funny to watch, on the other. This month we have put together XI somewhat upsetting yet hilarious moments on the pitch which had ‘purists’ tearing their hair out!

Brazilian great Rivaldo is known to many for his sublime left foot. But you can watch him displaying some additionalskills too! This was one bizarre incident of the 2002 World Cup that I recall. An innocuous corner kick turned into a farce by Rivaldo during the semi-final match between Brazil and Turkey.

Juergen Klinsmann is a German great but some Albiceleste fans might not welcome him with open arms. Most English football fans who have seen Klinsmann in action for Tottenham Hotspur will concur that despite his brilliance with the ball and sublime skills, he had this habit of fallingoverabittooeasily. Hell, he at times even celebrated his goals by mocking his diving skills!

This was Ecuador against Chile: Bryan Carrasco grabs the arm of Edson Montaño and strikes himself to create another ‘sublime’ moment in South American football!

In my opinion, Alberto Gilardino here was shot byanunknownsniper, so please leave the kid alone! Even in real-time it was clearly a dive and the referee promptly produced a yellow card. Now, isn’t that hilarious?

One moment David Villa was writhing with pain and the next, he was ready to participate in a brawl! Amazinghealingpowers, must be in the DNA.

Robert Pires is one of the best footballers to grace the shores of Great Britain but didn’t really cover himself with glory in this case. Pires came to English Football with Portsmouth but it seems he came back with lotmorethansomeofthesublimeskills that he displayed at Arsenal.

Taking only one incident from Cristiano Ronaldo’s compilation is an injustice to his ‘talent’ but we have to give others some space too!

Captain Fantastic’s not so ‘fantastic’ moment on the pitch! Steven Gerrard represents everything good about Liverpool – talent, passion and guts, but this incident might even have ‘The Kop’ cringing in disbelief.

Dynamo Kiev’s Olexandr Aliyev showing his own set of healingpowers in Champions League game against Arsenal. Amazing stuff!

We will end with some of the modern day masters of the ‘art’. Mind you, this is ‘morethanasimulation’! Barcelona is considered the epitome of club football, right now. Players like Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi create poetry on the football pitch. Sometimes players like Javier Mascherano, Pedro and Sergio Busquets, create some jarring notes on the football pitch that has fans gasping for fresh air.